


Complex Allegiances

by whoneedsapublisher



Category: RWBY
Genre: Diverges from canon after S3, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 17:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11086881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoneedsapublisher/pseuds/whoneedsapublisher
Summary: Neo and Yang started off as enemies, for a number of good reasons. But in the end, Neo is the one who gets Yang up out of bed again to fight Cinder. Whether or not that makes them "friends" is an evolving discussion.





	Complex Allegiances

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Going Down Swinging](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6045724) by [BackslashEcho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BackslashEcho/pseuds/BackslashEcho). 



 

Yang just wanted to be left alone.

She didn't need Ruby’s insufferable naivety with her insistence that Yang would be fine, as if she was just going to walk off losing an arm, losing her ability to fight and the only thing she was really good at. Honestly, she'd been almost happy when Ruby had left. It hurt that she’d been left behind yet again, but it wasn’t the same- she and Ruby both knew she would have said no if Ruby had asked her to come. And it was a relief, not having Ruby in her room all the time, trying to be cheerful, trying to comfort her, until Yang blew up and spent the rest of the day feeling guilty about snapping at Ruby when she was just trying to help.

She also didn't need Taiyang’s timid attempts to cheer her up, or gently needle her about her “brooding”. As if he had any fucking right to question how she was dealing with loss. As if he hadn’t made his two daughters raise themselves while he shut down.

And she definitely wasn't shedding any tears that no one from Beacon was in contact either.

Right now, there were only two people she even _might_ want to talk to.

This tricolour pixie wasn't either of them.

“What, come to finish me off? Doesn't seem worth the trip.” Yang said bitterly. Even at full strength Neo had wiped the floor with her. With one arm and no weapon Neo could probably kill her before she even got out of bed. But why bother? Yang couldn't possibly count as a threat, and Neo hadn’t made any attempt to come after her in the battle for Beacon.

Neo didn’t even bother to even ready her weapon, as she leaning on it casually as she shook her head. She pointed to Yang and mimed shaking hands. Yang looked back at her, confused. “You came to… congratulate me?”

Neo looked disbelievingly at her, then mimed writing on something from two different positions. Not waiting for a response, she mimed standing with her back to something and looking over her shoulder, then repeated it facing the other way. Then, aiming an invisible gun followed by standing and looking around. Then, something Yang couldn't decipher. Someone handing something to someone else doing something?

“What are you even doing?” Yang asked in frustration. “Just say it!”

Neo gave her a look that said a lot more than her posing had. Mostly regarding her low opinion of Yang’s intelligence. She pointed to her throat and mimed talking with her hand as her lips moved silently, her motions even more exaggerated than before, almost sarcastic.

“Wait, you _can't_ talk? I thought you were just a smug little jerk.” Neo smirked in a way that did very little to disavow Yang of that notion. She didn’t even seem to react to the “little” comment. Clearly a girl completely free of Napoleon complexes, despite the similarity in names.

Returning to her previous message, Neo pointed at Yang with one finger, then herself with another, and then brought the two fingers together. Then she mimed standing with her back to something twice again, then handshaking, then...

Yang’s eyes widened as she finally understood the common thread.

“You want us to be partners?” Neo smiled and nodded, obviously pleased that Yang had understood her. Yang was less excited.

“No way. You're a criminal! You tried to kill my sister! You tried to kill _me_!” Neo shrugged, looking unconcerned. She mimed something like a bow and then pointed at herself and drew a finger across her neck.

“I should… shoot you?” Yang hazarded, and Neo looked disappointed. She pointed to herself, then made a cross shape with her hands. “I should shoot someone else?”

Neo shook her head and mimed a gun, then crossed her hands again and mimed clearing the air in front of her. “No shooting.” Yang said, and Neo nodded. She pointed to herself again, then made the gesture that seemed to mean “not”.

“Someone else.” Yang said. Neo nodded and started doing an exaggerated swagger that didn't look like her. Then she mimed a bow again. “Someone else… should go somewhere with a bow?”

Neo looked annoyed. Yang glared at her. “Sorry for not getting your weird cryptic hints. Why should I play charades with a murderer anyway?” Neo looked at her, then looked around the room with mock inquisitiveness. As if that wasn’t enough, she followed it up with sitting on the bed and staring out the window, miming crying.

‘Because you have nothing better to do’ seemed like the gist of it. She might even be right. What life did Yang have left anyway? When she'd thought she was strong, Adam had taken her out almost effortlessly. And before that, Neo. Mercury could have beaten her too, probably, since it was obvious that he’d thrown to match to frame her. How many more people were there who she didn’t stand a chance against? How could she be a huntress when she was so weak even before she’d lost an arm? And now that she had, what could she do now? Stumble through life shadowed by not only her failure, but the terrible reputation she’d been slandered with? A lot of people would think she’d gotten exactly what she deserved, after all. An eye for an eye. An arm for a leg. Yeah right. As if Mercury taking a dive was equal to what she’d suffered. Ruby had told her she fought him on the day of the attack and his legs had worked _just fine_. He’d lost a couple days recovering. She’d lost her arm, her weapon, and her partner.

Blake. Yang tried not to think of her when she could avoid it. She'd tried to help her and failed, and paid for it far too steeply. And Blake had stayed just long enough to dump Yang on someone else, then abandoned her like a spent torch. It would have hurt badly enough if it was just a partner, if Weiss or another teammate had left her. But losing Blake hurt so much more, and set off the ever waiting pain of Raven abandoning her. Once again, she’d lost a woman she lov-

Yang’s train of thought was derailed as Neo clapped her hands loudly and looked at Yang expectantly. She didn’t mime anything threatening, or reach for her weapon, but there was a glint in her eye that reminded Yang that turning down her offer didn’t only mean she wasn’t on Neo’s side.

It also meant Neo wasn’t on hers.

As much as Yang didn’t see a lot of hopeful prospects in her life, she wasn’t quite ready to throw it away yet.

“...Fine.” she said, bitterly. “Let’s play charades.”

Neo smiled in a way that was less smug than usual as she make a show of cracking her knuckles and pondering. She pointed to herself again and then made the “not” gesture. “Someone else.” Yang said dully. “Who?” Neo nodded, and Yang realized where the miscommunication had been. Neo hadn’t been signing what someone else should do, she was signing who it was.

Once again Neo mimed a bow and walked in a weird way. A bow… Who used a bow?

“...Cinder?” Yang asked, confused.

Neo nodded, then drew her finger across her throat.

“...Cinder killed someone?” Neo shook her head, then pointed to herself, then her throat again.

“You killed Cinder.” Neo shook her head.

“...You want to kill Cinder?” Yang guessed.

Now they were getting to it. Neo nodded and crossed her arms

“Don’t you work for Cinder?” Yang asked.

Neo shook her head and mimed an obnoxious walk and a tip of a hat. That could only be one person. “Torchwick worked for her.” Neo nodded, then made her Torchwick gesture again, and then mimed one hand biting her other hand.

Yang still didn’t know everything that had happened at the battle, but Ruby had filled her in on some parts. Torchwick had been killed by a Nevermore right before he finished Ruby off. Yang didn’t exactly have much sympathy for him. “Torchwick got eaten. How’s that Cinder’s fault, exactly?”

Neo glared, and mimed Cinder’s walk, then pointed authoritatively. “Cinder ordered him to be there?” Yang almost started to argue and then thought better of it. Who cared why Neo decided that it was Cinder’s fault that Roman died? If the bad guys wanted to fight each other, all the better for everyone else. “Fine. You want to kill her. Why am I involved? I can’t fight Cinder.”

Neo paused, and then mimed Cinder’s walk, then cowered in fear.

Then she mimed a scythe.

“... I don’t know where Ruby is.” Yang said, disappointed in spite of herself. She knew she was useless, but she’d hope that Neo thought otherwise, for some reason. She’d hoped that there was something she could do, even if it was for someone she didn’t want to do anything for. Not just tell her where Ruby was. But Neo was shaking her head.

She mimed a scythe again, then took up a fencing stance and stabbed an imaginary sword. Then she pointed at Yang, and lastly… she brought a hand up to her face and batted at the air. Like a cat.

Blake.

The idea of Neo only coming to her to find Ruby was weirdly disappointing. But the idea that Neo had come to her to find _Blake_ made her sick to her stomach.

“Your information’s out of date. I don’t know where Blake is either.” Neo came here to get team RWBY. But there _was_ no more team RWBY.

Neo was still miming, but Yang didn’t care enough to try and interpret anymore. “Even if I wanted to help you, I can’t.” she said, waving Neo off. Neo frowned. She made the sign for Blake again, then pointed at Yang and held her hand to her forehead and scanned an imaginary horizon.

So her information wasn’t out of date, she was just _very_ mistaken about what Yang’s plans were. She must have assumed that Yang was trying to find where Blake was. Well, she wasn’t. What was the point? She was tired of always being the one who chased. If Blake wasn’t going to stay, why would Yang want to set herself up to be hurt over and over again?

“I’m not looking for Blake.” Neo frowned again and shook her head. She mimed a scythe, mimed looking, and then mimed turning out an empty pocket and shrugging. She repeated it with the scythe replaced by the fencing. Then she pointed at Yang and mimed looking, then mimed reaching into a pocket and finding something.

“Bullshit.” Yang said. “If Ruby or Weiss can’t find her, why would I be able to?” Neo grinned a very sinister grin and started to mime a plan.

First, she mimed a mask on her face, and reached dramatically for something held at her side. Then, she walked over to Yang and mimed stabbing her. Then she walked across the room, made her sign for Blake and then reacted in horror, rushing over to Yang. She smirked, made a sweeping gesture and mimed finding something.

Yang’s blood ran cold as she recognised the actors in Neo’s play. “You want me to get killed by Adam to lure her in.” Neo shook her head, and then stood still. A second later, there was the sound of breaking glass and the illusion fell apart, revealing Neo standing behind it.

“...You want to use your semblance to fake me dying.” Yang still didn’t understand Neo’s semblance, and doubted that Neo was in any hurry to explain it, but it seemed to be able to able to… copy people? Make semi-solid illusions? Teleport people and leave a fake in their place? Whatever it did, using it to make it look like Yang was getting attacked would certainly be possible.

It wasn’t a very nice plan, but it would be an effective one. Except for two glaring flaws.

“There’s no way that will work.” Yang said flatly, and Neo looked at her with an expression half way between inquisitiveness and resigned patience. Clearly Neo wasn’t convinced that Yang had a real reason.

“How on earth would we set up that Blake would see without having already found her? And also, why would Blake come running _towards_ me if I got attacked again when me getting attacked is what made her run away in the first place?” Blake left Yang to rot. If she cared enough to come running when Yang was hurt, then she would be here right now. If she cared, then when Neo came waltzing in like she owned the place, Blake would be there to protect her. But she didn’t, and she wasn’t. If Neo didn’t have her own private vendetta, Yang would be dead right now and Blake wouldn’t even know about it. And they were relying on a plan that hinged on Blake coming running as soon as Yang was attacked?

Neo rolled her eyes. She held up two fingers, then put the second one down. Addressing the first problem, maybe? Or saying there was only one problem? Either way, Neo had launched into another round and Yang resigned herself to more translation.

The opening was predictable enough. Blake. Followed up by Neo ducking behind the edge of her bed and peeking up in a way that might have been cute if anyone less dangerous was doing it. Then Neo flexing her biceps, drawing attention to the fact that behind her cutesy exterior, she was surprisingly muscular. Well, it wasn’t particularly surprising to Yang, considering she could still remember Neo flinging her into the roof of the train. But it certainly didn’t fit Neo’s image much.

“Blake… hiding… show off?”

Neo nodded twice then shook her head, and mimed lifting something effortlessly.

“Muscular?” Neo glared at her and tapped her forehead and pointed at Yang.

“...Strong?” Yang said, ignoring the implied insult. Neo nodded.

“I already knew Blake is good at hiding.” Yang said, unimpressed. This wasn’t an especially convincing argument so far.

Neo continued her thought. Blake. Then binoculars as she hid behind the bed again, ducking down and peeking back out at random.

“...She’s keeping an eye out while hiding.” Neo nodded, then mimed Adam again.

“She’s watching Adam.” Yang frowned. It wasn’t surprising, and she suspected that Neo didn’t have actual proof, but it was still troubling. Adam definitely didn’t have any pleasant intentions towards Blake, and he’d already shown he could beat her in a fight. Being purposefully near her was insanely dangerous and-

And what did she care? Why should she care if Blake was doing something dangerous? Let her.

But try as she might, Yang couldn’t help but worry. No matter how much she tried to convince herself, she couldn’t just turn away and say what Blake did wasn’t her concern anymore.

“...Fine. So, assuming she’ll see, what about the second problem?”

Neo rolled her eyes again and repeated herself. Blake. Then running over to Yang.

“She will _not_ come running.” Yang hissed, glaring at Neo. “She ran _away_ , Neo, she didn’t come here to protect me. If she wanted to stop me getting killed, why isn’t she here to stop you?”

Neo rolled her eyes even harder. Blake. A fearful expression with her arms wrapped around herself trembling in an exaggerated way. Adam. Her hand drawn across her throat. Pointing at Yang. Adam. A slashing motion. And then Neo came over and tapped her remaining arm.

“...Blake’s afraid of Adam killing me. Or cutting off my other arm. That doesn’t explain why she left.”

Neo shrugged. She did her Adam impression, then made grabby motions in the air, then Blake. Then Adam, then looking around, then… two fingers next to each other, Blake, then pointing at Yang?

“What? Adam… wants to grab Blake? I’m next to her?”

Neo looked irritated. She mimed pulling something close and then snapping at an invisible person and drawing the invisible something closer.

“Oh. He’s possessive?” Neo nodded.

So Blake didn’t leave because she didn’t care. She left because she was afraid of Yang getting hurt.

 _No_ . Yang would not defend her. What Blake was afraid of was _someone_ getting hurt and it being her fault. If she cared about _Yang_ , cared about anything she’d said, about anything she’d promised after she ran away the first time, about anything they’d shared as partners _-_ if she’d cared about _any of that_ she would have stayed and let team RWBY help her. Let _Yang_ help her. But she just left. So she didn’t have to see how broken Yang was and feel guilty. So she didn’t have someone else get hurt and have to feel guilty about that too.

“If she really cared she would have stayed and-” Yang started, but Neo mimed an exaggerated yawn and shrugged. Blake. Running to Yang.

Basically, she didn’t care what Yang thought, she cared that the plan would work. Yang flushed slightly. Of course Neo didn’t care. She felt stupid for letting her guard down, for talking to Neo like she was her friend.

Neo reached her hand out again. Her left hand.

Yang paused. She didn’t want to work with Neo. Neo was, after all, a murderer. As far as Yang could tell, she was also a sadistic little asshole with a none too tight grip on sanity. Even if she didn’t capriciously decide to kill Yang partway through this crusade, she would be terrible to work with. And dangerous.

On the other hand… what choice did she have?

Neo, for whatever her reasons, wanted to bring RWBY back together. She’d presented a pretty compelling reason as to why that couldn’t happen without Yang, and the plan she proposed was something that Yang couldn’t do alone. If she tried this plan without Neo protecting her with her semblance, Adam actually _would_ kill her- assuming she could even find him without Neo’s villainous connections. And if Cinder was afraid of team RWBY, then bringing RWBY back together was something they needed to do, even if Yang was only there to intimidate.

Yang couldn’t fight, but maybe she could still help. Even if it was by humouring a monster.

She reached out her hand and gripped Neo’s tightly.


End file.
